There was nothing to be done about it; Rhode was simply too fast.
Forget Satan-class—even a Transcendent like Sirzechs could only catch a faint glimpse of Rhode's movement trajectory.
As for Michael or Azazel, they couldn't even see a shadow; they could only rely on their long-standing combat experience and intuition to make a judgment.
And then there was Creuserey.
Although Katerea had said they had been training in secret for centuries, the fact that they remained at Ultimate-class after hundreds of years spoke volumes about their mediocre potential.
Even if Creuserey's instincts sensed the danger, his body couldn't dodge the attacks.
Simply put, his physical reactions couldn't keep up with his awareness.
Combat Intuition: Something's coming! Dodge!
The Body: Something's coming? What? Where?
And thus, the situation resulted in this.
No... if this keeps up, I'm going to die here.
The moment the thought of death crossed his mind, Creuserey's will to fight evaporated. And without that will, his physical responsiveness grew even more sluggish.Rhode pressed his advantage, and from that point on, the battle was a foregone conclusion. Covered in wounds, Creuserey was simply no match for him.
Several flashes of sword light flickered, and Creuserey's remaining limbs were severed. He let out a blood-curdling scream as he plummeted like a meteorite, slamming into the ground and gouging a massive crater into the practice field, sending plumes of dust into the air.
Agonizing pain surged through his entire body. Any normal person would have died instantly from such horrific injuries, but he clung to life, his magical power barely diminished.
This was to be expected. His current strength was a gift from the Infinite Dragon God; until the time limit of the "Snake" was fully exhausted, Creuserey's power would not significantly wane.
Even so, having lost all four limbs, his will to fight had utterly vanished.
"Wait... wait! Don't kill me! I surrender! I plead guilty!" Creuserey wailed, desperately begging for mercy.
In his grand plan, he had never once considered the possibility of his own defeat.
Having obtained the power of the Infinite Dragon God, both he and Katerea had believed themselves to be invincible—capable of trampling Azazel and crushing Sirzechs. Had the God of the Bible still been alive, they would have even dared to challenge the Creator.
But the battle just now had shattered his delusions. The arrogance was gone, replaced by a face contorted with pathetic terror.
"Sigh. Honestly, I didn't really want to do this to you," Rhode sighed, though a small smile played on his lips.
He muttered inwardly: If you want to blame someone, blame the System. It's the one pulling the strings; this has nothing to do with me.
A flash of sword light swept across. Creuserey's head spun into the air, and blood erupted from the wound, spraying more than ten meters away.
As he struck, Rhode thought he heard the word "Wait," but he pretended not to hear a thing. After all, the System rewards were far more important.
[Mission "Defeat Creuserey" completed. Calculating rewards...] [Calculation successful. Obtained Skill: Fiery Eyes – Silver Edition.] [Skill: Fiery Eyes – Silver Edition (A variant of the Golden Gaze). When active, it allows the user to see through all illusions and falsehoods.]
"Fiery Eyes? Wait... what the hell is 'Silver Edition'?"
Rhode almost lost his composure when he saw the skill name.
The effect was excellent, but he really wanted to have a word with the System about its naming sense. Could they not have gone with "Bronze Edition" or "Iron Edition" if they were going for a theme?
The System, however, remained silent. It only ever made its presence known when issuing missions or handing out rewards.
Fortunately, unlike "Super Acceleration," this skill didn't require him to shout its name out loud. If he had to yell "Silver Edition Fiery Eyes" in the heat of battle, Rhode felt he might have to move to a different planet just to escape the embarrassment.
Seeing Creuserey eliminated, Katerea let out a breath of relief. She used a spear to prop herself up, standing with difficulty. After a brief moment of mourning for her fallen comrade, she looked toward Sirzechs, who had been the one to shout "Wait."
"Sirzechs, you are far too kind. You're simply not suited to be a Devil King."
Rhode had told her before that the success of her "nation-building" depended entirely on Sirzechs being sufficiently benevolent. She had been nervous about it, but now it seemed Rhode was right.
"Perhaps," Sirzechs sighed from the bottom of his heart.
As a Devil King, he knew the state of the Underworld better than anyone. The once-prosperous Seventy-Two Pillars of pure-blooded Devil nobility had been reduced to less than half their original number. As for the legitimate bloodlines of the Four Great Satans, only the Old Devil Faction remained.
If the Old Devil Faction hadn't remained so stubbornly hostile after their initial defeat, Sirzechs wouldn't have wanted to exile them to the corners of the Underworld. Creuserey carried the legitimate bloodline of Asmodeus; his death meant the end of that lineage.
So hypocritical... Katerea grumbled internally. She wanted to say it out loud, but to avoid jeopardizing the plan, she kept her thoughts to herself.
Meanwhile, the battle was far from over.
With his Balance Breaker active, encased in pure white armor, the White Dragon Emperor Vali slowly descended to face Rhode.
His azure wings of light shimmered brilliantly against the night sky. Though his eyes were hidden behind his visor, Rhode could feel a tangible, intense hostility radiating from the void.
Rhode knew a fight was inevitable, but he still wanted to know the reason.
"You seem to really hate me. Why? This is only our second time meeting."
"You don't need to know! Rhode, fight me!"
As the words left his lips, a murderous glint flashed in Vali's eyes. His white figure vanished instantly.
Rhode's combat intuition screamed, warning him of the incoming threat.
A split second later, Vali closed the distance, his right fist clenched tight. The punch tore through the atmosphere with a sonic boom, aiming straight for Rhode's chest!
In his Balance Breaker state, Vali was significantly stronger than Creuserey. Whether it was power, speed, combat awareness, or close-quarters technical skill, he was in a completely different league.
Furthermore, after watching the previous fight, Vali was well aware of the terrifying cutting power of those strange light discs Rhode used. That was why he chose to engage in melee rather than trading magical blasts from a distance.
In the original story, even someone like Kokabiel was helpless before Vali's Balance Breaker.
Facing this naked hostility, Rhode didn't just rely on instinct—his eyes tracked the White Dragon's trajectory perfectly. He reacted instantly, opening his left palm to meet Vali's fist, catching the armored gauntlet firmly in his grip.
BOOM!
The collision between the two sent out a white, ring-shaped shockwave, the resulting blast rippling outward in all directions.
Rhode frowned slightly as palm met fist. Vali's strength exceeded his expectations; it was actually comparable to his own current power level.
And for some reason, he felt Vali's resentment and hostility deepening by the second. If looks could kill, Rhode would have been riddled with holes by now.
"Divide!"
At the moment of impact, the azure gemstone in the White Dragon Emperor's gauntlet flashed with light, accompanied by a mechanical voice.
Immediately after, Rhode felt a portion of his strength being drained away.
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (320 Chapters – Ongoing)
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